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Salon owner, cancer society at odds over safety of indoor tanning

Indoor tanning can be safe if done properly, says the owner of a local tanning salon.

But local Canadian Cancer Society officials disagree and back a Northern Ontario MPP's efforts to ban the activity for people younger than 18.

Jeff Shular of Paradise Tans Plus in Owen Sound said most Canadians do not get enough sun and tanning beds can be a good substitution.

"Where we live we don't get enough vitamin D," he said in a recent interview at his downtown store.

MPP France Gelinas has introduced a bill to ban indoor tanning for people under age 18.

"Tanning salons directly target youth through advertising in yearbooks and in schools before prom and graduation," the NDP MPP said in a statement posted to her website. "Not only do the salons either not know or play down the lifelong consequences of excess exposure to UV rays, they make tanning accessible and attractive for young people."

She said she has received thousands of e-mails and letters, many from students, in favour of the ban. Nova Scotia and B.C. already have similar bans.

"Using tanning beds before the age of 35 increases a person's risk of developing melanoma skin cancer by 75%," he said.

Melanoma is one of the most common and deadliest forms of skin cancer among people ages 15 to 29, he said, and also one of the most preventable.

A 2006 survey indicated 50,000 Ontario high school students had used indoor tanning.

Van Geem said ultraviolet rays from indoor tanning are up to five times higher than UV rays from the sun at its strongest.

"There are a lot of rumours about tanning and there is a lot of misinformation about tanning," he said. "For example a base tan is not safe. Any time your skin is tan or burnt it's damaged."

But Shular said there is a safe way to tan indoors.

Use a tanning bed for a short period of time at first and then slowly increase exposure so the skin can adapt, he said. Indoor tanning can boost a person's vitamin D and their mood, he said.

"I can't educate people enough about it, the pros and cons of indoor tanning. Education is the key to anything," he said.

Shular said he is against the ban but wants salon owners to educate customers so they know to tan safely. Tanning beds are marked with warnings and recommended exposure times.

"I know of a few tanning salons who bend the regulations to gain wealth. They put the customer's health at risk. If everybody kept to the regulations, every business would offer the same options," he said.